My strategy of preparation for PRELIMS

Hi, Friends.

Prelims is just a small milestone in a very long journey which we intend to cover. Though it is only of qualifying nature, but one need's to prepare extensively for that. For the preparation of that will be carried forward to the Mains and further ahead as well. While preparing for Prelims, one should also keep in mind the Mains-GS paper. Specially those subjects and areas which are common in Prelims and Mains-GS, should be studied thoroughly during the Prelims. For eg. Modern History, Indian Geography, Polity, Economics, Current affairs etc.

For PAPER-I (General Studies)

The preparation for Civil Services Examination (CSE) generally starts with the preparation for GS  itself as many of us tend to take some extra time in choosing our optionals while our preparation is going on. To start with, NCERT books of different subjects are good. Then one can switch to other specific books. Following is the list of books which I followed + others one should read :-

History:-          

Modern India-NCERT Class XII by Bipin Chandra (old edition) (start with this book then switch to the following)                          

India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra + others (for Modern India)

Medieval and Ancient India-NCERT Books

Spectrum Series books are also good .

You can also refer to any coaching notes of history.

In History your major focus should be on the Modern India, therefore read the first two books thoroughly. But in Prelims few questions are also asked from the Ancient and Medieval India. Hence it is also imperative to go through them, but do not put much very strenuous efforts in them. In the latter two parts give special focus to Indus Valley Civilisation, Ashoka, Buddhism and Jainism, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and socio-cultural developments of both ages.

Geography:-

NCERT Class XI, XII- 2 books each. These 4 books cover physical geog. and Indian geog.

G.C.Leong 

Spectrum Series Book

If still not satisfied you can go for selective study of Khullar's book on Indian Geography.

For world geog. photostates of NCERTs 'Land and People' can be used.

ATLAS are must for Indian and World mapping related questions. Go for OXFORD Atlas. There are two-one is good for the world and one is for India. Get both of them as one atlas would not be sufficient. Try to use the atlas as maximum as you could. They are very good and helpful in learning.

Finally if still not satisfied u can get notes of some coaching, but I don't think that u would need them.

Indian Polity:-

Indian Polity by Laxmikant is the best and only required book for polity. You don't need anything beyond this. Read it 2-3-4 or 5 times. :)

But still if some future IAS is not satisfied with my suggestions :) and want to study Constitution you can go for:- 

Our Constitution by D.D.Basu (this is better)

or Our Constitution by Subash Kashyap (not as good as there are few mistakes, but if you already have bought it, it's fine.)

There is one more book by Mr. Bakshi but I would not suggest you to buy it.

Economics:-

NCERTs Class XI and XII can be studies to form a base, but they won't help too much.

Then go for classnotes of any good coaching or teachers. This will help you in figuring out what to study in economy and then will impart you the knowledge of basic economics terms and development.

Indian Economy by Uma Kapila is a good book to read after you have acquired the basics.

Another one by Dutt and Sundaram is also quite famous.

Generally people are not very comfortable with economics, hence after getting the basics of this subject, start reading the Business section of any newspaper daily. Unlike above three subjects, the questions in Economics are more from current scenario, hence keeping oneself updated about Indian and world economic issues is very vital. You should be aware of new treaties, economic terms etc coming in papers, magazines etc.

Science:-

Nowadays the questions from Basic Sciences like Physics, Chemistry and Biology are decreasing constantly. And their place is being taken by questions of Science and Technology like Missiles, Green Technology, Satellites, New age devices, newly developed technology etc. which we come across by reading the newspapers and magazines. If you don't have science background then it will be good if you go through Basic Sciences by some coaching notes or GK books. Then you will be able to understand the science and tech questions more easily. For everybody, there are no fixed books for this section. Hence you will have to update yourself through internet, newspaper, magazines etc. Any special editions of Science and Tech magazines should be keenly followed. 

          

Newspapers:-

Any one newspaper should always be followed with significantly high consistency. 

THE HINDU, the best one and my first and last preference.

INDIAN EXPRESS, is the second newspaper which I would advice you to follow. 

TIMES OF INDIA, is only for entertainment and doing away your boredom :) For civil services aspirants in particular, this is the last newspaper to follow. Once you clear CSE, you can happily read TOI.

If you are switching to THE HINDU for the first time, it would not look too good, but hang on and after few days you will start liking it. But still if anybody does not like it and is already addicted to TOI then TOI it is :) 

The areas questions from Economy, National and International affairs, Science and Tech etc are very well covered in THE HINDU.

P.S.

For the very fresh aspirants, Editorial and Op-Ed pages are the most important pages of THE HINDU :) Give 1-2 hours to newspaper daily.

Magazines:-

Now, there are many good magazines around there, so no problem if different students follow different ones according to their different tastes. 

Yojana- compulsory for all. Should be finished in 3-4 hours, at max for the freshers in a day.

Kurukshetra-it is also a very thin magazine but optional.

Any one from the following should be followed on monthly basis

Chronicle

Competition Wizard

Civil Services Times (CST)

Pratiyogita Darpan PD

Competition Success Review (CSR)
Frontline (follow it for MAINS and INTERVIEW preparation)

and many more are there.....

You should follow 2 magazines, one Yojana and other anyone which you want. I followed Chronicle. Also it is not important to stick to any particular monthly magazine, though its good to maintain continuity. 

There are some yearbooks like Manorama, CSR, CST, PD etc. but they will only consume your time. Instead buy INDIA YEAR BOOK(Govt. of India) which is published every year around March. You should read this one both for Prelims and Mains. Even in this book go for selective study. Though I also liked PD year book. Other special editions of different magazines can also be followed depending on your requirement.

General tips:-

1. For traditional subjects like History, Geography, Polity etc. read same topic from at least two books and not more than three books.

2. Then read the best book as many times as you can. Remember that 'its better to read one book 5 times, than reading 5 books one time each'. 

3. Try to cover as maximum as you can in Prelims GS.

4. I did self preparation but took coaching in Economics only because it was what I wanted. Similarly you decide what is good for you based on your requirement and abilities. Don't just follow others.
5. While reading newspapers and magazines, it is essential that you read only the relevant articles. Otherwise you will waste too much time in reading less important articles. Here, your own experience and understanding will guide you in deciding what to read.

PAPER-II

Last  year (2011), when CAST was introduced for the first time, I made extensive preparation for Paper-II even though I had no problems with English and Aptitude as I have always been an English medium Science and Engg. student. It included going through Arun Sharma's books on Quantitative Aptitude and others, Wren and Martin for English grammer, couple of practice books by different pulishers etc. But this year (2012) I didn't do a single thing and still scored better than last year.

The crux is that students with English medium need not bother about English stuff too much. The students with Engg. or science background need not bother about aptitude too much. Whereas other student will have to make proportional   efforts in the weak areas be it English, Aptitude, Problem Solving, Decision making or any other. But too much efforts should not be done in memorizing mathematical fundas and short tricks etc as the experience shows that such type of questions are not at all asked. PRACTICE is the key for everybody, especially the Hindi medium students and those who are weak in Quantitative Aptitude. So buy few books on CSAT and keep on practicing throughout the year whenever you find time.